Portland State Magazine Fall 2008

i ' ; ~ 00 0 0 N 00 ~ ~ .... Q) .D 0 +-' u 0 " C Q) ~ Q) Q) ~ => Vl c.. 2 0 QWQOOOOo 0 G 0 0ODD.O o o Half a lifetime ago, Paul Theroux virtually invented the modern travel narrative by recounting his grand rour by train through Asia in The Great Railway Bazaar. In the three decades since, che world he recorded in that book has undergone phenomenal change. His latest book, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, chronicles his odyssey from Eastern Europe, still hungover from communism, through tense but thriving Turkey into the Caucasus, where Georgia limps back coward feudalism while its neighbor Azerbaijan revels in oil-fueled capitalism. Theroux is a first-hand witness co it all, traveling as che locals do-by stifling train, racclecrap bus, illicit taxi, and mud-caked fooc--encountering adventures only he could have. No one is better able co capcure the cexcure, ighcs, smell , and sounds of that changing landscape than Theroux. Theroux published his first novel , Waldo, in 1967. His 44 subsequent fiction and non-fiction works include The Family Arsenal, Picture Palace, The Mosquito Coast, O-Zone, Millroy the Magician, My Secret History, My Other Life, and Kowloon Tong. His highly acclaimed travel books include Riding the Iron Rooste,; Pillars ofHercules, The Great Railway Bazaar, The Old Patagonian Express, and Fresh Air Fiend. The Mosquito Coast and Dr. Slaughter have both been made into successful films. He was the guest editor of The Best American Travel Writing (Houghton Mifflin, October 2001) and is a frequent contributor co magazines, including Talk and Men's journal.